This invention pertains to an apparatus and method for handling a child's training pant or the like, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for inverting and simultaneously folding and pleating a child's training pant or the like.
A child's training pant generally comprises a crotch area that joins a front panel and back panel that have their side edges joined together to form a pair of generally oppositely disposed seams. Generally it is desired for the training pant to be turned or inverted so that the seams are inwardly disposed of the pant body, thereby presenting a pant having a pleasing look, among other things.
After the training pant has been inverted, or in those cases where inverting the pant is unnecessary and the seams can remain on the outside thereof, it is generally desired to fold and pleat the pant into a compact form for subsequent handling and packaging. One manner of inverting or folding and pleating a child's training pant is to peform it manually. This process is naturally time-consuming and costly in terms of expended manhours and downtime of machinery used to subsequently handle or package the training pant.
Some apparatus and methods exist for inverting different types of garments, such as hose, or other objects such as bags. In one such type of apparatus and method, the hose or bag is manually placed over a hollow tube and a plunger is then passed through the tube to invert the hose or bag. Thereafter, the hose or bag is manually removed.
In another type of apparatus and method, a hose or bag is manually placed over a tube or the upstanding collar of an opening, and a vacuum or sucking action is used to draw the hose or bag through the tube or opening, thereby inverting it.
In another type of apparatus and method, gripping members or tongs are used to grip the side edges of the opening of an object to hold it open, and a plunger device is moved against the opposite closed end to pass it between the gripping members or tongs, thereby inverting the object.
In the above-described apparatus and methods, the inverting procedure is time-consuming where manual operations must be performed, and thus costly due to excess manhours and machinery downtime. Furthermore, there is no provision for simultaneously folding and pleating the hose or bag or other object, whether it has been inverted previously or not.
Thus, the need exists for an apparatus and method that inverts a child's training pant or the like, and simultaneously folds and pleats the training pant, in an efficient and less-costly manner.